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Thursday, March 08, 2012

PLA Plans

The PLA conference is coming up soon, and I'm very excited! I've only attended PLA once (Portland OR in 2010), but it was my all-time favorite library conference. I have high hopes for this one!

First of all, it's in Philadelphia. You're thinking, "Philly in March?" but I've never been to Philadelphia. I don't care too much about the weather (unless it snows or rains, since I'll be making a half-mile walk from my hotel to the conference center and back every day...). There's such great history in Philadelphia: the Liberty Bell! Independence Hall! The Free Library of Philadelphia! I've carved out some time to see things while I'm there.

I'm also excited about a lot of the program choices. I have at least two choices for every time slot. Some of my top choices:

Wednesday 3/14 at 12:15pm
Nancy Pearl Presents: Book Lust Discoveries
This is a lunch that I RSVP'd for because they had limited free tickets available. I've never seen Nancy Pearl speak, so that should be good.

Thursday 3/15 at 10:45
Creating a Virtual Orientation for New Staff
Melissa Hepler, Sandra Lombardo, Brenda Kinzinger
I train new Interns once or twice a year. There has to be a better way. Here's hoping this session provides that better way!

Thursday 3/15 at 4:15
On Life Support, but Not Dead Yet!: Revitalizing Reference for the 21st Century
Richard Kong
I love the whole discussion of whether or not reference is dead, and I'm all for revitalizing the whole idea.

Friday 3/16 at 8:15am
Black Belt Libraries
Larry Neal and Warren Graham
I've read all the Black Belt Librarian books, but never had the opportunity to hear Mr. Graham speak. There are four great choices in this time slot. My second choice (tied for first, really...) is:

Friday 3/16 at 8:15am
What Makes a Collection? Redefining the Library Through the Collection
Patrick Sweeney
I mean, the name says it all! Totally my thing!

Like I said, I have several choices for every time slot, so the final decisions will probably come down to location, seating choices, and the speakers themselves. (I've been known to sit in the back so I can duck out if I'm not interested. Any speaker who reads directly from a script or has tiny little print on the screen will probably cause me to move on.)

I also try to attend a good number of sessions that are on topics in my weak areas. Sure, I love hearing about reference and collection management, but what I really need is to learn about youth and teen readers advisory, business reference, and management topics. I'm still interested in those things, but need isn't always as much fun as want.

If you're going to be in Philly, give me a shout! Mary Kelly and I will be looking for some tweetups, so please include @awfullibbooks in your plans! We'll also be tweeting fast and furious all conference long from @hhibner and @librarymary40, so by all means follow us (or temporarily unfollow from 3/13 - 3/16 if you aren't attending and it becomes a bit much!)